Acclaimed American Playwright and activist Eve Ensler terms the string of nation wide protests against the recent brutal gang rape in New Delhi as a catalyst to global movement against sex crimes.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA, INDIA (JANUARY 02, 2013) (ANI) - Moved by the wave of nation wide protests against the recent brutal gang rape inNew Delhi, acclaimed American Playwright and activist Eve Ensler on Wednesday (January 02) termed the agitation as a catalyst to a global movement against sex crimes.

She said this while addressing mediapersons in Thiruvananthapuram of India's southern state of Kerala.

"I really believe this is going to be the catalyst not only for India but for an entire world where sexual violence is rampant," said Ensler.

Best known internationally for her play 'The Vagina Monologues' Ensler said she did not support capital punishment for rapists.

"I don't think that kind of punishment serves the longer term, I think it is about transformation and I think it is about accountability. I think men need to be held accountable. I think there were wonderful suggestions people were having last night about how we held men accountable. But I also think education and transformation is the key to the future. Like how do we help men who have raped, who have beaten, who have incested, we need to look at why they are doing that and how to stop doing that and how to teach their sons to do the same," said the 59-year-old activist who was amazed by the blanket media overage the plight of the Delhi gang rape victim who succumbed to injuries sustained during the horrific sexual assault.

Beaten and raped by five men and a teenager on December 16, the victim died from her injuries on Saturday (December 29), her plight shaking the conscience of many urban middle class Indians who consider gender rights as important as poverty alleviation.

Police on Tuesday confirmed they would push for the death penalty for her attackers - the force can recommend prosecutors pursue particular punishments in Indian trials.

The case also cast a spotlight on an epidemic of violence against women in India, where a rape is reported on average every 20 minutes. Media coverage of such crimes has intensified in the wake of the outcry over the Delhi attack.

But the savagery of this crime - where the victim was raped for an hour and tortured with an iron rod, which did serious damage to her internal organs - has stirred national debate and put gender issues on the political agenda.

The victim's name has not been released. Her alleged attackers have been detained in connection with the crime and police are likely to press murder charges this week. Prosecutors are expected to seek a death sentence for the adults.